Barbara Farrow Walker Turned a Long-Forgotten Vision of a City Of
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Barbara FarrowWalker 1935-2014 Barbara Farrow Walker turned a long-forgotten vision of a city In 1968, Barbara’s life took an unplanned turn that set her on a For more than a quarter century, Barbara was involved with vir- of linked parks and greenways into a lifelong passion. A tireless ad- path toward becoming a civic leader who spearheaded the creation tually every high-profile parks project in the greater Portland area. vocate for urban parks and trails, Barbara focused her energy on of Portland’s 40-Mile Loop greenway. Her lifetime’s work began Mainstays of the Portland Parks system that hundreds of thousands helping connect people to nature within the city of Portland, Oregon. “selfishly,” according to Barbara. A group of investors planned to of people use every year owe their existence in no small way to Her greatest achievement rests in helping to fulfill a plan for the re- build a massive 800-unit apartment complex in the wild, wooded Barbara. In addition to Marquam Nature Park and Pioneer gion’s 40-Mile Loop, a system of trails and greenways that connect ravine below the Walker’s house in Portland’s West Hills. Courthouse Square, these open spaces include Powell Butte Nature parks and circle the Portland area. Rather than simply stonewalling the proposed development, Park, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the Eastbank Esplanade, the Barbara was born on July 3, 1935, in Burbank, California, to- Barbara and a few others came up with a positive alternative. They Springwater Corridor, and more. gether with her twin brother Craig. A sixth-generation Oregonian held coffees, knocked on neighbors’ doors, made phone calls, and Portland Parks and Recreation Director Zari Santner, a city park on her mother’s side—and always a proud Oregonian—Barbara assembled property and topography maps. By 1971, they formed planner when she met Barbara in the early 1980s, fondly recalled considered it a trick of fate to be born in California. the Friends of Marquam Nature Park to try to acquire at least some working with Barbara. “I used her as a mentor,” said Santner. “She is In World War II, Barbara’s father, Claud Golder Farrow, Jr., later of the ravine for a public park and trail. Barbara and her group recog- extremely eloquent and very passionate about preserving nature and simply known as “Colonel,” was in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. nized that the proposed Marquam Nature Park could form part of a also making it available to citizens to enjoy in a respectful manner.” When Barbara was six years old, he was shipped overseas and corridor that connected Willamette Park along the Willamette River Barbara’s ability to succeed came in large part from her respect Barbara’s mother moved the family to southwest Portland. to Council Crest, Portland’s highest point, and Washington Park. for all voices—land owners, environmentalists, community leaders, Barbara’s father was away throughout WWII serving in the Barbara then discovered that her vision had an historic prece- business people, and everyday citizens—as she moved forward South Pacific and Europe. His assignments placed him in extreme dent. Landscape architect John Charles Olmsted (stepson to with her efforts. She was also tenacious and earned enormous cred- danger, often alone behind enemy lines. After a few short years at Frederick Law Olmsted) had proposed just such a plan of connected ibility by her ability to see what both Santner and Lindberg called, home, he was recalled by the U.S. Air Force to Alaska for the dura- parks in his 1903 System of Parkways, Boulevards and Parks for the “the big picture.” “She is able to look 10, 20, 50 years out at how de- tion of the Korean War. Barbara always considered her father’s City of Portland. This official plan for the city’s park system had cisions would impact our urban environment,” said Lindberg. Legion of Merit medal the first thing she would take if the house been shelved for decades. While Barbara worked long hours as a more than full-time vol- were burning. The sheer audacity of Barbara’s vision helped her win support, unteer, she always made sure that she had time for her family. She Barbara’s mother, Jane Irvine Thompson Farrow, descended but it also required a huge amount of work. Someone had to be com- was always home or off with the boys when they were not in school. from families that had arrived in Oregon in the mid-19th century. In mitted to the project full time. With Wendell’s blessing, Barbara The Walkers made it a point to congregate every evening for a nice addition to caring for her children, Jane Farrow was an active com- stopped working for the family business and took on the task of family dinner. Backpacking, often in Montana’s Bob Marshall munity volunteer, devoting energy and time to the Portland Junior raising money, soliciting land donations, organizing land-use Wilderness, became the annual family vacation. Symphony (now called the Portland Youth Philharmonic) and other studies, and working closely with land owners, developers, govern- In the early 1980s, Barbara and Wendell purchased a 70-acre tree organizations. Barbara believes that her mother’s commitment to ment officials, community organizations, and others. farm in North Plains, Oregon. They planted an orchard and continu- the community set a pattern for her own volunteerism. Marquam Nature Park was Barbara’s obsession for more than a ally enlarge their forest. While the farm requires a great deal of work, Despite her father’s extended absence, Barbara enjoyed a rich, decade—and she never really stopped working on behalf of this it became a place to relax and enjoy nature as well. nurturing family life. She lived within a few minutes walk of her park. Piece by piece, Barbara was the catalyst for acquiring land for “We need to provide urban people with an opportunity to ac- maternal grandmother, a great grandmother, and other extended the park through donations and purchases. Dedicated in 1979, the cess nature,” said Barbara. “The excitement about nature comes family. Barbara attended the private Catlin School (now Catlin park covers more than 130 acres and features a nine-mile trail, yet it from exposure to the outdoors. It can’t be learned in the abstract. By Gabel) on a scholarship, graduating from high school in the spring is just minutes from downtown Portland. experiencing nature firsthand, people develop the urge to be stew- of 1953. The Catlin School promoted a spirit of public service that To press on with Olmsted’s vision of a parkway trail sur- ards of the land.” Barbara carried with her into adulthood. Her hard work, good rounding the city, Barbara and five others founded the 40-Mile Loop Over the years, Barbara received more than two dozen local and grades, and support of the faculty helped her earn a scholarship to Land Trust in 1981 and began to secure properties and easements for national awards for public service and her efforts to preserve urban college. the trail system. While the name “40-Mile Loop” remains, the green spaces. She also served on numerous boards and committees, In the fall of 1953, Barbara enrolled at prestigious Smith College planned trail has expanded to 140 miles as the Portland metropol- including the World Forestry Center Board of Directors. Barbara’s in Northampton, Massachusetts, then as now one of the nation’s itan area has grown. While most of the loop’s trails are connected to efforts raised millions of dollars and acquired acres of additional leading small colleges. Barbara majored in Government, with an one another, the effort to complete the entire loop continues into the park land, and she educated thousands of people about the impor- emphasis on International Relations. She spent her junior year in 21st century. tance of natural spaces to a vibrant urban community. Geneva, Switzerland, where her French became fluent, and received Former Portland City Commissioner Mike Lindberg, who But Barbara was never interested in personal credit. “She never her B.A. cum laude in spring 1957. To have achieved at Smith oversaw the city’s park system, met Barbara at the dedication for required or asked for recognition,” noted Mike Lindberg. “She focused College, she later observed, armed her with the confidence that en- Marquam Nature Park. “This is a pretty dynamic person,” Lindberg on the best interests of the people of Portland and was willing to do a abled her to pursue a number of daunting goals in life. Though later recalled himself thinking at the time. For several years, he and huge amount of selfless work behind the scenes to earn results.” Barbara was offered a Fulbright to study an additional year in Barbara worked together on several Portland Parks projects, all part What gratifies Barbara Walker is not recognition but what is Europe, she turned down the honor and returned to Portland. of Barbara’s effort to see the 40-Mile Loop come into existence. under the feet of the countless people who visit and live in Portland. Barbara became a reporter and columnist for the Oregon “Nothing was impossible for Barbara,” said Lindberg. “If the mis- This growing Northwest metropolis has maintained its connection Journal. In 1960, she met Wendell O. Walker on a blind date to a con- sion was bold enough, it could get done.” with nature through a system of parks and connecting trails that sets cert conducted by a visiting Leonard Bernstein. Barbara and Wendell In 1980, along with Lindberg, Barbara became involved in a the standard for urban open spaces.